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Joshua Ryen Duri Co in the n the politi who were W ore movby r Th “DNA testAhmaud couldishsomething som ingpolice cal Lclear murdered disturbinghitabout George Auberry and ave been H saidmurders to there ne’s pet wuhnty Register he initiaomas ing should gued that ng his murder trial, It’s not heeoescaped. e. Heit.” eft how he saw of so lve theFloyd, later tealleged is en p prosecutorsShe added, said in this case, im F an R eb th F st ic m y u . e en ifi . “just the callousness of it; and Breonna Taylor were sparked by, “a powder keg waiting to ed rt 1 ca ed 9 h ia Ryen, theirCooper killed husban t ca . er complica Sheriff’s officials say the 42-year-old was wearing te darted ina llfry th that they Chiang sa se successfully an e pla tinmuch namedThere’s id during thand finally ensurely takbrown cejumpsuit. g the pin him calling for his mother. just so there happen.”

M to ar cG neighbor C 10-year-old daugh d and wife D D Both his wrists were cuffed to a waist ont re ro ia u th ir n se at e a ju o cu e Roper cam ug an says when h DNAa ev stice is serv campall tions’ claim beljust te ssica an that’s hristopher the an ongin d Peggy It’s ai g id horrifying. a brutal reminder of how Black “People are mad about lot of stuff.

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Because we also have the expansion of an h st is ce a. eading care er an American at io , but they issue that e e. n He is described as white, standing 6 feet (1.83 it ” in w as th d fully ohealthy, Cooper caseweighingD200 s, Hispanic Cpeople aliforniatrying n a potenti emeters) Principal at the Black Futures Lab. r. Kripounds kilograms),iagnose watonly s an othereconomic crisis. Not voterstoacstay sti Krau(90.72 chingare ally polaritall, she ex . se ro H , ss a e minoritrying Seeing Black Lives Matter (BLM) signs held dby they’re to pay their bills.” v th is p et ec zi e k er n p with brown hair and hazel eyes. ts ee in g o ties - Co ping his fo litical spectr back into ththe 11-pound (5-k arian, tells th cusisonnot tinagree um are protestors in all 50 states, including in many small towns “Whatlivwe can nall policing ued oon ilo fa e n paisgethat A2to serve. When irness and justice McGuire wvild after it regainsgstram) cat to with few Black residents, Garza said, “It’s humbling to see serving the people that they’re supposed is rength. it th ed at th if e it and to have been a small part of it.” She is heartened that we’re afraid of the police that’s not serving. Whenever I see he sees it ag ain, he’ll bisobcat on Friday. people are awakening. tanks, rubber bullets, and tear gas being used — We pay for sue a ticket for j Garza said she is also pleased that many celebrities that. Are we keeping people safe? We’ve been defunding the who have large platforms are using them now to push for Black community for a long time.” change. She said the Black Futures Lab has a strategy for “Defund the Police” is a controversial slogan that helping celebrities to use their platforms for the movement. has been held by some protestors. Garza said that slogan “When they use their platforms to activate people, it’s an comes from the Movement for Black Lives, a coalition that important way to save our democracy. It makes us active includes BLM. “This work is something many organizations NASHVILLE – A statue of former KKK leader and and engaged participants.” have been doing for many years,” she said.

Confederate soldier Nathan Bedford Forrest that has “I got to take over Selena Gomez’ Instagram last “It’s really about getting a handle on how we’re been in the Tennessee capitol for over 40 years could be week. It was awesome.” She said people are really hungry spending our money.” She cited the fact that education replaced by another famous Tennessean. for information. “We’ve been doing a lot of work and talk funds have been cut, the postal service is near bankrupt, Local lawmakers are considering options to replace about what’s going on. When folk like Selena do that, it and thousands of homeless are living on the streets.

Forrest and according to reports, Dolly Parton is one engages people in issues of our time. I plan to work with “We’re using police to deal with homeless. You don’t candidate. her through this election cycle.” send a nurse to deal with a drug cartel.”

The Tennessean reported in December last year that Seeing Black Lives Matter (BLM) signs held by proGarza said she will also be taking over Lady Gaga’s “We did the largest survey of Black America in 2018 Republican state Rep. Jeremy Faison was the first person testors in all 50 states, including in many small social media in the coming week. “We’re really focused on — The Black Census Project. The overwhelming majority to bring up the idea of removing the statue that’s been towns with few Black residents, Garza said, “It’s transferring this energy into political power.” said in the past six months they’d had a negative experience in the capitol building since 1978. Faison said he could humbling to see it and to have been a small part of She said it’s important to change the people who are with the police.” “think of 100 other people deserving of that post” before it.” She is heartened that people are awakening. making the rules and those who aren’t enforcing the rules.

She said what she supports is “limiting the size, scope suggesting Parton because of her popularity and status as She cited as an example the election in Georgia this week and role police play in our communities. Police also need a local and national role model.

By Gail Berkley where voters in predominantly Black areas waited hours consequences when harm is enacted. Police unions are a “If we want to preserve history, then let’s tell it the The Sun Reporter right way,” said Faison. “How about getting a lady in For Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza the to vote. Movement for Black Lives is not just about police huge, huge issue. They block transparency for officers.”

Speaking of another campaign that’s getting national there? My daughter is 16, and I would love for her to global outpouring of protests and activism following the violence. It’s about how Black lives are devalued. Black Lives Matter is for an opportunity for us to recognize and attention Project Zero’s “8 that Can’t Wait,” Garza come into the Capitol and see a lady up there... What’s alleged murder of George Floyd while in Minneapolis wrong with someone like Dolly Parton being put in that police custody has been heartening and makes her hopeful uphold the right to humanity and dignity for Black people. cautioned, “We have to be wary of things that are a quick alcove?” for the future. At the same time, she said, “It’s bittersweet She said Black people also have to work “to remove the fix.”

She said, “8 Can’t Wait doesn’t deal with the real issue Lately there has been mounting pressure to that it takes someone being murdered on camera to get to negatives we’ve internalized about ourselves.”

“For people who are not Black, there’s also work to here, nobody should be above the law.” downplay Nathan Bedford Forrest’s legacy in Tennessee, the point of conversation that we’re in.”

“Public safety is not about bloated police budgets. in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the Black Lives “I was horrified,” Garza said of viewing the video do.” She said it’s not only about changing the rules, but also Matter movement. of Floyd’s life being taken by a white police officer with about a culture shift. “That’s what I think we’re seeing now. It’s about expanding the safety net for Black people,” she It’s going to take all of us staying committed.” concluded.

Parton has not commented publicly on the idea.

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Black Lives Matter Founder Finds Hope in Global Protests

bcat Reco ShackledBo Inmate ve A f t er Being H Escapes Custody i Police Car from Hospital

Dolly Parton Statue May Replace KKK Leader Monument

Black Business Group Takes AB5 Independent Contractor Fight to Governor Newsom

Quinci LeGardye California Black Media The Black Small Business Association of California (BSBA) sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom June 12. In it, the group criticized the state’s proposed allocation of $20 million in the 2020-21 budget to enforce AB 5.

When the controversial labor law took effect in January, AB 5 reclassified millions of workers in California from independent contractors to W-2 employees.

The letter, signed by the organization’s president Salena Pryor, argues that the state’s costly plan to enforce AB 5 would only exacerbate income inequality.

“BSBA believes that at this time, when California is facing a massive $54 billion deficit and the state’s unemployment rate is 24 percent, it would be fiscally imprudent to spend $20 million on enforcement of a policy that has been detrimental to the livelihoods of Black small business owners,” the letter reads.

The fight to amend or, for some, to overturn AB 5 has continued amid the COVID-19 pandemic and, now, the George Floyd protests. In the wake of worldwide efforts to call out systemic racism, Black business organizations are speaking out against the restrictions that AB 5 has placed on African American entrepreneurs in California.

Many California Democrats, including the bill’s author Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), say they are open to making adjustments in the law as long as its core purpose, fighting against gig worker misclassification, is kept. Republican opponents, on the other hand, have called for suspending AB 5 altogether so

independent contractors can work freely during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Newsom has not discussed whether or not he is in favor of making updates to AB 5 since he declared his support for it at a press conference in April.

The California Black Chamber of Commerce (CBCC) and the Los Angeles Urban League both released statements June 9 criticizing the law. They point out that a disproportionate number of Black independent contractors and businesses have been negatively impacted by AB 5.

The statement signed by Michael Lawson, President of the Los Angeles Urban League, read, “AB 5, the legislation introduced

by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez focuses solely on the employee side of the equation and ignored the impact that this legislation has on Black-owned businesses that have suffered through a history of redlining that allowed banks and other financial institutions to legally discriminate against Black-owned businesses, preventing them from gaining access to capital and credit.”

Though there has been no official study of the impacts of AB 5 on Black owned business, the Center for Responsible Lending found that 95% of businesses owned by African Americans and other people of color were unlikely to receive aid from the Paycheck Protection Program because of a lack of commercial banking relationships. That effort was a part of the federal government’s emergency response to the Coronavirus crisis.

Both organizations’ statements also criticized a recent tweet by Gonzalez defending AB 5. Gonzales wrote, “Can you imagine if folks were arrested for wage theft? Or if police just shot them like they were looters?”

“How dare you use the shooting of civilians by police as a political weapon to defend your misguided and disastrous law that has robbed thousands of Californians of their right to earn a living with dignity, respect, and independence,” the CBCC press release fired back. It was signed by Edwin Lombard, who is listed on the letterhead as president and CEO. The CBCC is currently in a legal dispute over leadership with two factions vying in court to take the helm of the organization.

On June 11, the California State Assembly voted unanimously to amend AB 5 based on months of negotiations between Gonzalez and different advocacy groups. The bill’s two amendments loosen restrictions for independent contractors in multiple industries, including writers, photographers, musicians, translators and

The Black Small Business Association of California president Salena Pryor. (Courtesy Photo)

interpreters.

During the June 11 floor hearing, Assemblymember Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) spoke in favor of the amending the bill by reading from the CBCC’s letter, stating plainly the effects of AB 5 on Black businesses.

Kiley, a staunch opponent of AB 5, has said he would like to see the law overturned.

“AB5 has already crushed thousands of Black businesses and will keep more form operating in the gig economy,” Kiley read, restating the position of Black business owners. “Nearly a million Californians would lose jobs, opportunities, and independence if the future of AB5 were up to you.

“We are not asking for your help or misguided protection. Just open the door and let us help ourselves,” the CBCC letter read.

Editor’s clarification: This note clarifies that our recent article, titled “Black Business Group Takes AB 5 Independent Contractor Fight to Gov. Newsom,” Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) was referring to her bill AB 3075 and not AB 5 in a message she tweeted June 6. AB 3075 proposes protections that would prevent employers from setting up new corporations to avoid paying wages they owe previous employees.

JUNETEENTH J U N E 1 9 • C E L E B R AT E F R E E D O M

Owner Loses Popcorn Company Over Floyd-Related Facebook Post REDFORD TOWNSHIP, MI (AP) – A minorityowned financial services company is taking over a popcorn business in Detroit that lost major clients after its owner posted a racially charged comment online that trivialized the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Harris Financial Group announced Thursday that it had signed a letter of intent to acquire the Detroit Popcorn Company, which sells popcorn tins and concessions equipment. The deal is expected to close in 30 days, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Owner Evan Singer made a disparaging remark on Facebook that trivialized the way that Floyd, a handcuffed black man, died with a white police officer’s knee on his neck. The widely shared post has since been deleted. Nevertheless, at least two major clients – the Detroit Zoo and Quicken Loans – subsequently ended their relationships with the company.

The move comes in the wake of protests nationwide over Floyd’s death and wider issues of police brutality and racism. Many early protests devolved into violence and vandalism, particularly in big cities. In the comment, Singer appears to be reacting to the destruction, saying: “They wonder why they need knee’s on there necks.’’

David Farber, who sold the company to Singer 18 months ago, said last week that Singer’s comment contravened their sale agreement and that he would buy the 97-year-old company back and sell it to an African American investor. Under the agreement, if Singer made any comments that harmed the integrity, good name or reputation of the Detroit Popcorn Company, Farber could take back control.

Singer told WJBK-TV earlier this month that the comment “had nothing to do with race,’’ but that he regretted writing it.

Farber is acting as a facilitator of the sale to Harris and will not hold an ownership stake in the company.

“I’m excited about this rare opportunity to continue the company’s legacy, and remain committed to the high level of quality and service that its customers have come to expect,’’ Harris Financial Group Managing Partner Ken Harris said in a news release.

Farber said a third change in ownership in less than two years is the right move for the company.

“I want to see it succeed and I want it to be around for another 100 years,’’ he said.

Los Angeles Police Officer Struck by Crossbow Arrow LOS ANGELES (AP) – A Los Angeles police officer was struck by a crossbow arrow Sunday night during an altercation with a man in North Hollywood, authorities said.

At least one officer then fired his or her gun, Officer Jeff Lee said Monday. No one was struck.

The officers used a “chemical agent’’ – Lee did not know if it was pepper spray or tear gas – to arrest the man, whose identity was not immediately released.

The LAPD’s SWAT team was evacuating an apartment building in North Hollywood on a report of a barricaded suspect around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Lee said.

The man also exited the building and fired the crossbow.

Lee said the officer was treated and released from a hospital.

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BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER

World & Nation

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Black with a Capital “B”: Mainstream Media Join Black Press in Uppercasing Race Tanu Henry California Black Media Last week, Norman Pearlstine, the editor of the LA Times, sent a memo to staffers announcing that the publication will begin capitalizing “B” in the word Black in its articles when referring to a race of people.

That move puts the publication with the largest circulation in California in line with the way the majority of the Black Press in California and around the country have referred to African Americans for decades since they retired “Negro,” beginning in the 1960s to the early 1970s.

Pearlstine also announced that the LA Times is taking steps to add more diversity to its newsroom by increasing the number of Black and Latino journalists on its staff.

“Within the next two weeks we shall form a group to work on overhauling our hiring process,” Pearlstine wrote to employees. “The global pandemic and the global financial crisis constrain our ability to make a hiring commitment by a specific date. We can commit, however, that the next hires in Metro will be Black reporters, as we begin to address the underrepresentation.”

In the wake of the brutal murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the violent protests that followed it, across America, more and more people have begun to point out,

own up to, and apologize for abetting racism and antiBlackness in all of their forms — explicit, subtle and systemic. Americans from all backgrounds have begun to publicly acknowledge how discrimination, over the years, have hurt and held back African Americans for centuries.

Last week, other media organizations across the country, including BuzzFeed News, NBC News, MSNBC, Metro Detroit, and others, announced that they have made the decision to begin capitalizing the “B” in Black as well.

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), the country’s largest professional organization of Black media professionals and journalism students, released a statement that said the organization has been writing Black with a capital “B” in all of its communications for about a year now.

The NABJ is also recommending that “White” and “Brown” be capitalized, too, when referring to race.

“It is equally important that the word is capitalized in news coverage and reporting about Black people, Black communities, Black culture, Black institutions, etc,” the NABJ statement said.

Sarah Glover, past president of the NABJ, wrote a letter to the Associated Press (AP).

“I’m writing today to request the mainstream news media begin capitalizing the “B” in Black when describing people and the community,” wrote Glover.

“I’m also asking the AP to update its Stylebook to reflect this change, effective immediately,” Glover continued. “This book is the bible for working journalists and sets journalistic industry standards. The AP has tremendous impact as a wire service with more than 1,000 subscribers worldwide.”

Larry Lee, the publisher and CEO of the Sacramento Observer, the oldest Black-owned news publication in California’s capital city said whenever he sees a lowercase “B” in Black, it feels like a “slap in the face.”

I always felt that they were devaluing our community,”

said Lee, who is a second-generation publisher of the Observer. He took the helm of the family-owned business from his father William Lee, who founded the newspaper in 1962 and passed last year.

“This is wonderful. Its progress,” Lee continued.

“I applaud other media outlets that are doing that. We thought it was important, in a journalistic sense, to recognize Black Americans and African Americans in the same vein that you stylistically recognize Hispanics and any other ethnicity.”

Lee, who’s is 47, says for as long as he can remember, the Observer and other Black-owned newspapers across the country have capitalized the “B” in Black also to affirm the humanity of African Americans, evoke a sense of cultural pride, and to align themselves with the 1970’s “I’m Black and I’m Proud” movement popularized in pop culture by James Brown and others.

Lee says, for a while now, Black publishers have called on general market newspapers to adapt that policy, too.

Paulette Brown-Hinds, Publisher of the Black Voice News in Riverside, is also a second-generation executive of an African American, family-owned newspaper in California.

“As a newspaper, we have capitalized the word Black for decades,” said Brown-Hinds, who took over the dayto-day operation of the paper in 2012 from her parents, Hardy and Cheryl Brown.

“We have always shared a Pan-Africanist worldview, regarding Black as being more encompassing of people of the African Diaspora,” she continued. “I guess our counterparts, in what people call the mainstream media, are finally catching-up with something we’ve been doing all along.”

In her letter, Glover said organizations moving to change their policy on capitalizing Black is a “good first step.”

“This matters. It’s to bring humanity to a group of people who have experienced forms of oppression and

discrimination since they first came to the United States 401 years ago as enslaved people. I ask for this change in honor of the Black Press,” she wrote.

The New York Times, which adheres to its own style guide that is different from AP’s, also still uses Black with a lowercase B.

Headline from the Washington Post Sunday newsletter. (Courtesy Photo)

Chida Darby Warren editor of Black and Magazine wearing a t-shirt with the lowercase black crossed out. (Courtesy Photo)

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In his address, Biden expressed concerned for African Americans and other minorities who have suffered under oppressive government policies. (Photo: joebiden. com)

Biden Takes Firm Stand Against Police Murder of George Floyd

By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior Correspondent After going out to personally meet with demonstrators in Delaware, presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden has taken a firm stand against the police killing of George Floyd and the overall plight of African Americans who’ve been targeted, brutalized and killed by law enforcement officers.

“I can’t breathe.” “I can’t breathe,” Biden said in a lengthy address on June 2.

“George Floyd’s last words,” Biden explained. “But they didn’t die with him. They’re still being heard. They’re echoing across this nation. They speak to a nation where too often just the color of your skin puts your life at risk,” Biden pronounced.

Between 2013 and 2019, police in the United States killed 7,666 people according to data provided by Mapping Police Violence, a research and advocacy group. The number of police killings in America disproportionately affects African Americans, who despite only making up 13

percent of the U.S. population, are two-and-a-half times more likely than whites to be killed by police.

Biden’s address comes as uprisings continue throughout the country and as viral video and news reports show police using tear gas to disburse peaceful demonstrators gathered near a church where President Donald Trump visited.

Trump has also suggested that police shoot demonstrators and he continues to publicly consider using U.S. Armed Forces to combat protesters.

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows Biden up nationally by a 53 percent to 43 percent margin among registered voters.

CNN reported that the context of individual polls continues to show Biden is in one of the best positions for any challenger since scientific polling began in the 1930s.

“There were more than 40 national public polls taken at least partially in the month of May that asked about the Biden-Trump matchup,” CNN reported.

“Biden led in every single one of them. He’s the first challenger to be ahead of the incumbent in every May poll

since Jimmy Carter did so in 1976. Carter, of course, won the 1976 election.

Biden’s the only challenger to have the advantage in every May poll over an elected incumbent in the polling era.”

In his address, Biden expressed concerned for African Americans and other minorities who have suffered under oppressive government policies.

He said Floyd’s last words speak to a nation “where more than 100,000 people have lost their lives to a virus and 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment – with a disproportionate number of these deaths and job losses concentrated in the Black and minority communities.”

“And they speak to a nation where everyday millions of people – not at the moment of losing their life – but in the course of living their life – are saying to themselves, ‘I can’t breathe.’”

“It’s a wake-up call for our nation. For all of us,” Biden stated.

California Assembly Passes Bill to Set Up Reparations Task Force Tanu Henry California Black Media On June 12, the California Assembly voted 61-12 to approve AB 3121.

The “reparations” bill calls for the creation of a task force to study and propose ideas for how African Americans in California can be compensated for slavery and its “after lives,” as the author of the legislation, Dr. Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), describes the Jim Crow laws and other forms of injustice and state-sanctioned discrimination that have existed in the United States from 1865 until now.

“The bill would require the task force to recommend, among other things, the appropriate mechanism for redress as it pertains to California’s role in the enslavement of Black people,” Weber read in a statement at the bill’s hearing to her colleagues on the California state Assembly floor.

The California state Senate is now reviewing the bill and is expected to vote on it by June 25.

If the bill passes the Senate and Gov. Newsom signs it into law, the state will appoint and commission an eightmember task force comprised of people from different backgrounds. The team would lead the study that defines what reparations should look like and who would be eligible to receive compensation.

“Until the end of the U.S. Civil War, California city and county law enforcement authorities enforced a contract labor system, allowing slave holders to effectively

hold persons in bondage,” Weber said. “In other words, California state, county and city authorities actively supported the institution of Black slavery both within and beyond California.”

In May, the Assembly Judiciary committee voted yes on the bill. Nearly a month later, the Appropriations committee passed it, too, before it moved to the Assembly floor for a full vote last week.

“Its time we took an honest look at our history. This is not about pointing fingers. It’s about getting to the truth.

African Americans have loved this country, and we have served it, and we have contributed to its might as much as every other American,” said Hardy Brown, the founder of California Black Media.

“We are not making this up. The history is all there.

City councils, state legislatures and the federal government crafted racist laws and adapted racially-biased public policies that deliberately excluded African Americans,” Brown continued. “They erected legal barriers that held us back and robbed us of economic opportunities that were afforded others for centuries — both here in California and across this land.”

Standing with Weber, all the other members of the California Legislative Black Caucus co-sponsored AB 3121. They are Senator Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles), the group’s vice chair; Senator Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles); Assemblymember Sydney Kamlager (D-Los

Angeles), secretary; Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Sacramento), treasurer; Assemblymember Chris R. Holden (D-Pasadena); Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson (D-Los Angeles); Assemblymember Autumn Burke (D-South Bay, Los Angeles); Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Sr. (D- South Los Angeles); Assemblymember Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento).

“Justice requires that those who have been treated unjustly need the means to make themselves whole again,” Weber told her colleagues.

Twelve of the 17 Republican members of the state Assembly voted no on the bill. They are Assemblymembers Frank Bigelow (R-O’Neals); Bill Brough (R-Dana Point); Steven Choi (R-Irvine); Jordan Cunningham (R-Paso Robles); Megan Dahle (R-Bieber); James Gallagher (R-Yuba City); Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin); Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale); Devon Mathis (R-Visalia); Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake); Jim Patterson (R-Fresno); and Randy Voepel (R-Santee).

The Assembly Republicans have not issued a formal statement opposing AB 3121. However, Joshua Hoover, Kiley’s chief of staff, has said that he believes a discussion about reparations for slavery should happen on the federal level.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER A3

Local

A4 BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER

Legal Notices/Features

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

PUBLIC NOTICE

ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME CASE NUMBER BCV-20-100942 Superior Court of the State of California, for the county of Kern, 1415 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93301 PETITION OF: JESSE ROBERT GAUNA FOR CHANGE OF NAME TO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS: Petitioner: JESSE ROBERT GAUNA for a decree changing names as follows: Present name JESSE ROBERT GAUNA Filed a petition with this court Proposed name JESSE ROBERT VALENZUELA THE COURT ORDERS: that all persons interested in this matter appear before this court at the hearing indicated below to show cause, if any, why the petition for change of name should not be granted. Any person objecting to the name changes described above must file a written objection that includes the reasons for the objection at least two court days before the matter is scheduled to be heard and must appear at the hearing to show cause why the petition should not be granted if no written objection is timely filed, the court may grant the petition without a hearing.

NOTICE OF HEARING Date: Aug 10, 2020 Time: 8:30 a.m.

Dept: 12 The address of the court is: Same as noted above.

A copy of this Order to Show Cause shall be published at least once a week for four successive weeks prior to the date set for hearing on the petition in the following newspaper of general circulation, printed in this county BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER Date: April 30, 2020 Linda S Etienne COURT COMMISSIONER Yesenia Sanchez DEPUTY JESSE ROBERT GAUNA PO Box 5104 Delano, Ca. 93216 Phone: (661) 721-6300 IN PRO PER BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: May 27, June 3, 10, 17, 2020

(www.sucorte.ca.gov) o poniéndose en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos exentos por imponer un gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación de $10,000 ó más de valor recibida mediante un acuerdo o una concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil.

Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corte antes de que la corte pueda desechar el caso.

The name and address of the court is (El nombre y dirección de la corte es): SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF KERN 1415 Truxtun, Bakersfield, CA 93301 The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is (El nombre, la dirección y el número de teléfono del abogado del demandante, o del demandante que no tiene abogado, es): THE DUNNING LAW FIRM APC Donald T. Dunning (144665) James MacLeod (249145) 4545 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 200 San Diego, Ca. 92123 Telephone: (858) 974-7600 Fax: DATE (Fecha): October 28, 2019 TAMARAH HARBER-PICKENS, Clerk (Secretario), by Layton Johnson, Deputy (Adjunto) (SEAL) NOTICE TO THE PERSON SERVED: You are served.

BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER (DLF) PUB: June 3, 10, 17, 24, 2020

Donald T. Dunning (144665) James MacLeod (249145) 4545 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 200 San Diego, Ca. 92123 Telephone: (858) 974-7600 Fax: DATE (Fecha): December 3, 2019 TAMARAH HARBER-PICKENS, Clerk (Secretario), by Gina Sala, Deputy (Adjunto) (SEAL) NOTICE TO THE PERSON SERVED: You are served.

BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER (DLF) PUB: June 3, 10, 17, 24, 2020

93309 Mailing Address: 18039 Crenshaw Blvd Ste 307, Torrance, Ca. 90504 County: Kern Full name of registrant: EVERARDO DURAN, 3814 W 184th Street, Torrance, Ca. 90504 The business is conducted by: Individual SIGNED: EVERARDO DURAN The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: N/A This statement filed with the County Clerk of Kern County on: June 8, 2020 MARY B BEDARD County Clerk By: N FRANCO, Deputy This fictitious Business Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the County Clerk’s Office. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another to a trademark or trade name under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., business and professions code).

I declare that all information in this Statement is true and correct. (A) Registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime This statement expires on June 8, 2025 BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: June 17, 24, July 1, 8, 2020

������������������������������� SUMMONS (CITACION JUDICIAL) CASE NUMBER (Número del Caso): BCL-19-018175 NOTICE TO DEFENDANT (AVISO AL DEMANDADO): ROBERTO GIL MENDEZ, an individual; and DOES 1 to 5, inclusive YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF (LO ESTÁ DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE): SUNSTREET ENERGY GROUP, LLC, a limited liability company NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below.

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you.

Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online SelfHelp Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form.

If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court.

There are other legal requirements.

You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online SelfHelp Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association.

NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. ¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 días, la corte puede decidir en su contra sin escuchar su versión. Lea la información a continuación.

Tiene 30 DÍAS DE CALENDARIO después de que le entreguen esta citación y papeles legales para presentar una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una carta o una llamada telefónica no lo protegen. Su respuesta por escrito tiene que estar en formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios de la corte y más información en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www. sucorte.ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede más cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario de la corte que le dé un formulario de exención de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin más advertencia.

Hay otros requisitos legales. Es recomendable que llame a un abogado inmediatamente. Si no conoce a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de remisión a abogados. Si no puede pagar a un abogado, es posible que cumpla con los requisitos para obtener servicios legales gratuitos de un programa de servicios legales sin fines de lucro.

Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www. lawhelpcalifornia.org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California,

������������������������������� SUMMONS (CITACION JUDICIAL) CASE NUMBER (Número del Caso): BCL-19-019162 NOTICE TO DEFENDANT (AVISO AL DEMANDADO): MARY PETTIS, an individual; and DOES 1 to 5, inclusive YOU ARE BEING SUED BY PLAINTIFF (LO ESTÁ DEMANDANDO EL DEMANDANTE): LENDMARK FINANCIAL SERVICES, LLC, a limited liability company NOTICE! You have been sued. The court may decide against you without your being heard unless you respond within 30 days. Read the information below.

You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons and legal papers are served on you to file a written response at this court and have a copy served on the plaintiff. A letter or phone call will not protect you.

Your written response must be in proper legal form if you want the court to hear your case. There may be a court form that you can use for your response. You can find these court forms and more information at the California Courts Online SelfHelp Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), your county law library, or the courthouse nearest you. If you cannot pay the filing fee, ask the court clerk for a fee waiver form.

If you do not file your response on time, you may lose the case by default, and your wages, money, and property may be taken without further warning from the court.

There are other legal requirements.

You may want to call an attorney right away. If you do not know an attorney, you may want to call an attorney referral service. If you cannot afford an attorney, you may be eligible for free legal services from a nonprofit legal services program. You can locate these nonprofit groups at the California Legal Services Web site (www.lawhelpcalifornia.org), the California Courts Online SelfHelp Center (www.courtinfo.ca.gov/ selfhelp), or by contacting your local court or county bar association.

NOTE: The court has a statutory lien for waived fees and costs on any settlement or arbitration award of $10,000 or more in a civil case. The court’s lien must be paid before the court will dismiss the case. ¡AVISO! Lo han demandado. Si no responde dentro de 30 días, la corte puede decidir en su contra sin escuchar su versión. Lea la información a continuación.

Tiene 30 DÍAS DE CALENDARIO después de que le entreguen esta citación y papeles legales para presentar una respuesta por escrito en esta corte y hacer que se entregue una copia al demandante. Una carta o una llamada telefónica no lo protegen. Su respuesta por escrito tiene que estar en formato legal correcto si desea que procesen su caso en la corte. Es posible que haya un formulario que usted pueda usar para su respuesta. Puede encontrar estos formularios de la corte y más información en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (www. sucorte.ca.gov), en la biblioteca de leyes de su condado o en la corte que le quede más cerca. Si no puede pagar la cuota de presentación, pida al secretario de la corte que le dé un formulario de exención de pago de cuotas. Si no presenta su respuesta a tiempo, puede perder el caso por incumplimiento y la corte le podrá quitar su sueldo, dinero y bienes sin más advertencia.

Hay otros requisitos legales. Es recomendable que llame a un abogado inmediatamente. Si no conoce a un abogado, puede llamar a un servicio de remisión a abogados. Si no puede pagar a un abogado, es posible que cumpla con los requisitos para obtener servicios legales gratuitos de un programa de servicios legales sin fines de lucro.

Puede encontrar estos grupos sin fines de lucro en el sitio web de California Legal Services, (www. lawhelpcalifornia.org), en el Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California, (www.sucorte.ca.gov) o poniéndose en contacto con la corte o el colegio de abogados locales. AVISO: Por ley, la corte tiene derecho a reclamar las cuotas y los costos exentos por imponer un gravamen sobre cualquier recuperación de $10,000 ó más de valor recibida mediante un acuerdo o una concesión de arbitraje en un caso de derecho civil.

Tiene que pagar el gravamen de la corte antes de que la corte pueda desechar el caso.

The name and address of the court is (El nombre y dirección de la corte es): SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF KERN 1415 Truxtun, Bakersfield, CA 93301 The name, address, and telephone number of plaintiff’s attorney, or plaintiff without an attorney, is (El nombre, la dirección y el número de teléfono del abogado del demandante, o del demandante que no tiene abogado, es): THE DUNNING LAW FIRM APC

�������������������������������

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO: 2020-B2391 Doing business as: 7 ELEVEN 38530A at 1900 Union Ave, Bakersfield, Ca. 93305 Mailing Address: 5901 Moonlight Peak Drive, Bakersfield, Ca. 93311 County: Kern Full name of registrant: GREWAL H & R, INC., CA, 5901 Moonlight Peak Drive, Bakersfield, Ca. 93311 The business is conducted by: Corporation SIGNED: HARDEEP SINGH GREWAL The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: N/A This statement filed with the County Clerk of Kern County on: May 21, 2020 MARY B BEDARD County Clerk By: M HERNANDEZ, Deputy This fictitious Business Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the County Clerk’s Office. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another to a trademark or trade name under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., business and professions code).

I declare that all information in this Statement is true and correct. (A) Registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime This statement expires on May 21, 2025 BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: June 10, 17, 24, July 1, 2020 �������������������������������

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF GLADYS MARIE MONTGOMERY, aka GLADYS M. MONTGOMERY, aka GLADYS MONTGOMERY CASE NUMBER: BPB-20-002069 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of GLADYS MARIE MONTGOMERY, aka GLADYS M. MONTGOMERY, aka GLADYS MONTGOMERY A PETITION FOR PROBATE has been filed by JANET HARRIS; GORDON MONTGOMERY in the Superior Court of California, County of KERN 1215 Truxtun Ave Bakersfield, Ca. 93301 Branch Name: METRO DIVISION THE PETITION FOR PROBATE requests that JANET HARRIS be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

THE PETITION requests the decedent’s will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate.

The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court.

THE PETITION requests authority to administer the estate under the independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval.

Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority.

A HEARING on the petition will be held in this court as follows: Date: October 30, 2020 Time: 8:30 a.m. Dept: P Room: P located at 1215 Truxtun Ave., Bakersfield, Ca. 93301 IF YOU OBJECT to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney.

IF YOU ARE A CREDITOR or a contingent creditor of the deceased, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within four months from the date of first issuance of letters as provided on Probate Code section 9100.

The time for filing claims will not expire before four months from the hearing date noticed above.

YOU MAY EXAMINE the file kept by the court. IF you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (for DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate code section 1250. A request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk.

Attorney for Petitioner: Michael R. Young, SBN 39491 The Law Offices of Young & Nichols 1901 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, Ca. 93301 Telephone: (661) 861-7911 Email: myoung@youngnichols. com Attorney For: Janet Harris BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: June 17, 24, July 1, 2020

������������������������������� FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO: 2020-B2500 Doing business as: DURAN PROPERTIES at 5401 Business Park South #107, Bakersfield, Ca.

������������������������������� FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO: 2020-B2537 Doing business as: THE KITCHEN at 1317 20th Street, Bakersfield, Ca. 93301 Mailing Address: Same County: Kern Full name of registrant: HJR INVESTMENTS, LLC., CA, 1317 20th Street, Bakersfield, Ca. 93301 The business is conducted by: Limited Liability Company SIGNED: JERAMY BROWN, MEMBER The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: 10/13/17 This statement filed with the County Clerk of Kern County on: June 9, 2020 MARY B BEDARD County Clerk By: N FRANCO, Deputy This fictitious Business Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the County Clerk’s Office. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another to a trademark or trade name under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., business and professions code).

I declare that all information in this Statement is true and correct. (A) Registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime This statement expires on June 9, 2025 BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: June 17, 24, July 1, 8, 2020 �������������������������������

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Why Byron Allen’s Comcast Settlement Win Is an “L” for Black America

Mark T. Harris Special to California Black Media Partners Former comedian and entertainment mogul Byron Allen filed suit against Comcast in 2015 seeking $20 billion in damages. Allen alleged that Comcast refused to offer many of his television programs as part of its cable television offerings because he is African American.

Earlier this year, Allen’s legal challenge reached the United States Supreme Court to determine whether Allen could proceed with his civil action under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

Immediately following the Civil War and the ratification of the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which provided a wide-ranging ban on race discrimination. Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 is one of the statute’s most critical provisions, ensuring that “[a]ll persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right ... to make and enforce contracts ... as is enjoyed by white citizens.”

The goal of this section was to free the contracting process from the burdens of discrimination and ensure that newly freed slaves were guaranteed the same opportunity to contract as Whites. Passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and its “equal protection” clause, soon followed in June of 1866.

In response to Allen’s lawsuit, Comcast took the position that Allen must prove that his race was the “but for” basis for Comcast refusing to add his Black-owned television stations. In other words, if there were ANY other credible reason for rejecting Allen’s proposal to carry his television stations on Comcast, Allen would lose.

In a unanimous opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with Comcast over Byron Allen. All of the justices ruled that to prevail, “(Allen) must initially plead and ultimately prove that, but for race, (he) would not have suffered the loss of a legally protected right.”

Let’s take a breath here. What Allen placed before our conservative led U.S. Supreme Court, was the potential for raising the evidentiary standard that every subsequent litigant in the United States — that’s any of us filing a discrimination case — would need to prove.

The Supreme Court met Allen’s challenge and rejected his legal arguments. The result is that the next person seeking to argue that racial discrimination was one element leading to their failure to be awarded a contract, would have their case dismissed from any court in he nation because discrimination was not the “but for” reason for their rejection.

Many leaders in the Black community attempted to talk Allen out of taking his battle with Comcast all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, but Allen stubbornly persisted with his lawsuit.

After losing on the procedural interpretation of the application of the “but for” standard, Allen has “folded” and has reached a settlement with Comcast! Allen and Comcast have agreed that three of Allen’s television stations will be offered by Comcast. However, a victory for Allen is an “L” for the Black community.

Thanks to Allen, from this day forward, any African American or ethnic minority, when attempting to enforce Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, will be required to prove that the “but for” reason for their denial of a contract was their ethnicity no matter how egregious

Attorney Mark T. Harris practices civil rights law in Sacramento and is the Director of Pre-Law Studies at the University of California, Merced. Attorney Harris is the Managing Partner of the Sacramento Office of Ben Crump Law and served as an appointee of former California Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. to the California Fair Employment and Housing Council.

the otherwise discriminatory conduct they suffered may have been. In other words, thanks to Allen’s case, in order to receive enforcement under the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the racial discrimination suffered by plaintiff must rise to the level of being virtually the only cause for the denial of a contract or contractual rights, as opposed to one of the causes for the denial.

Many in the civil rights community, too, attempted to convince Allen not to pursue his litigation to the point of the U.S. Supreme Court fearing the very outcome that has now transpired .

American jurisprudence operates under the principle of “stare decisis,” which is a Latin term meaning “respect for precedent.” What the Allen case represents is the creation of a new, almost insurmountable, barrier to bringing subsequent cases for litigants who have nowhere near the financial resources that Allen has at his disposal.

Before we rejoice Allen’s victory over Comcast, we should be mindful of the loss for our community it represents.

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO: 2020-B2552 2020-B2553 Doing business as: BE A DIVA / BEADIVALASHCO at 3461 S Chester Ave #13, Bakersfield, Ca. 93304 Mailing Address: Same County: Kern Full name of registrant: ANGEL MARTIN, 3461 S Chester Ave #13, Bakersfield, Ca. 93304 The business is conducted by: Individual SIGNED: ANGEL MARTIN The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: N/A This statement filed with the County Clerk of Kern County on: June 10, 2020 MARY B BEDARD County Clerk By: M HERNANDEZ, Deputy This fictitious Business Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the County Clerk’s Office. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another to a trademark or trade name under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., business and professions code).

I declare that all information in this Statement is true and correct. (A) Registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime This statement expires on June 10, 2025 BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: June 17, 24, July 1, 8, 2020 ������������������������������� FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE NO: 2020-B2555 Doing business as: M & S HOLDINGS at 5215 Ashe Road, Bakersfield, Ca. 93313 Mailing Address: Same County: Kern Full name of registrant: MARK J. ASHLEY, 3031 21st Street, Bakersfield, Ca. 93301-3130 Full name of registrant: SUSAN M. ASHLEY, 3031 21st Street, Bakersfield, Ca. 93301-3130 The business is conducted by: Married Couple SIGNED: MARK J. ASHLEY The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed above on: 03/02/1998 This statement filed with the County Clerk of Kern County on: June 10, 2020 MARY B BEDARD County Clerk By: N FRANCO, Deputy This fictitious Business Name Statement expires five years from the date it was filed in the County Clerk’s Office. A new fictitious business name statement must be filed before that time. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name in violation of the rights of another to a trademark or trade name under federal, state, or common law (see section 14411 ET SEQ., business and professions code).

I declare that all information in this Statement is true and correct. (A) Registrant who declares as true information which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime This statement expires on June 10, 2025 BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER (E) PUB: June 17, 24, July 1, 8, 2020 �������������������������������

The Rub

Dr. Margaret Fortune Fortune Education Column As I write this column, there are two stay-at-home orders in effect in major cities across California due to sickness — one for the coronavirus and the other for racism.

The country is convulsing with civil unrest because we all watched George Floyd murdered by the police on camera with a casual brutality that has become emblematic of the troubled relationship between Black Americans and police authority. Every generation has their story.

I was a student at UC Berkeley during the 1992 Rodney King protests. Having just been elected student body president, I led a protest that resulted in the shutdown of the San Francisco Bay Bridge. I remember being hauled off the freeway by two burley California Highway Patrol officers. Breaking down in tears, I felt far less emboldened than my chanting betrayed. The police let me go so I went to the offices of the Daily Cal to write a column, but I couldn’t put the words on the page to express how I felt. I sat there dumbstruck and frustrated, stinking from protesting in the streets.

Now, as another generation protests police brutality, I believe things have gotten worse, not better with this national problem. The longer you live as a Black person in America, the more you understand nothing has

changed. This is just the modern version of the racism we’ve never reconciled in this country. That’s why in the wake of COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd, Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s call for the establishment of the first United States Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Commission is a good idea.

Despite how the pandemic has transformed what we think about schools, K-12 education is not here just for food distribution and child care. We are educating Black children in a nation on edge, trying to uplift hope rather than sow discontent.

Like many Black educators across America, I founded a system of public charter schools as an act of selfdetermination to get Black kids ready for college because the system has failed us. Educators teach children to be citizens in a democratic society. But, how do we approach that for Black children in the midst of a breakdown in the country’s social contract?

After meeting with a group of Black civic leaders, of which I was a part, Governor Gavin Newsom said, “The Black community is not responsible for what’s happening in this country right now — we are. Our institutions are responsible. We are accountable to this moment. Let’s just call that out.” I sincerely like what Newsom said. I also honestly believe nothing will change because it never has.

And therein lies the rub.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER A5

Features

Grisly Hanging Deaths of Three Black Men in Two Weeks Hark Back to Terror of Lynchings Past Robert Fuller, Palmdale resident found hanging from a tree. (Courtesy Photo)

Ebone Monet and Antonio Ray Harvey California Black Media Author and investigative journalist Ida B. WellsBarnett, a staunch crusader against lynching at the turn of the last century, would likely have been included among the hundreds of thousands of people calling for a thorough investigation into recent hanging deaths of two Black men in California and another in New York.

Wells-Barnett (July 16, 1862 - March 25, 1931) led one of the most aggressive anti-lynching campaigns through the Black press, beginning in the 1890s right up to her death about 40 years later. Wells wrapped statistics in touching stories that personalized the brutal lynchings and other race-based crimes happening in towns across the Deep South, bringing them to the attention of people across the country and in other parts of the world.

Now more than 150 years later, Los Angeles County called in California state Attorney General Xavier Becerra to keep an eye on the investigation of a Palmdale man found hanging from a tree last week.

Although local authorities have listed suicide as the likely cause of death in both instances, people in California and across the county are demanding more transparency in the investigations of the separate hanging deaths of the African American men.

On May 31, San Bernardino Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a man found hanging from a tree in Victorville, a desert city nearly 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. On June 13, authorities released information identifying the man, who was homeless, as 38-year-old Malcolm Harsch. He died at a makeshift encampment for unsheltered people where officials believed he lived, close to Victorville City Library.

It took the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office 10 days to release information about Harsch’s death.

The delay in releasing information about this case is the crux of many complaints being lodged against law enforcement in San Bernardino County. People are incredulous about authorities preliminarily deciding that Harsch’s hanging was a suicide. The comment sections of the Sheriff’s social media accounts include calls for investigators to release more information about the case People are also questioning if Harsch was lynched.

About 52 miles away, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is investigating another hanging in Palmdale.

Saturday people gathered at Poncitlán Square park near a tree outside of City Hall. That is where 24-year-old Robert Fuller’s body was found hanging on Wednesday June 10.

City officials have backpedaled since initially saying that Fuller’s death was likely a suicide.

Last Friday, authorities in Palmdale told people who crowed into a City Council meeting on Friday that there is no security footage from outside of city hall.

Activists are also calling on the New York Police Department to conduct a deeper investigation into the death of an unidentified Black man who authorities say died from another apparent suicide. He was discovered hanging from a tree in a park in the Inwood neighborhood of northern Manhattan near the Hudson River during the early morning hours of June 9.

Investigators in New York are conducting an autopsy to get to the root of his cause of death.

On Sunday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced that State Attorney General Xavier Becerra will “monitor” the Fuller investigation.

On Twitter Villanueva described his choice to bring in Becerra as part of his “commitment to transparency”.

On Monday, Becerra told California Black Media he dispatched a team of investigators to Palmdale.

“They will assess what has been done so far by the local investigators, with the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department,

and we will assist moving forward,” said Becerra. “We are an independent agency and our work we do on behalf of the Department of Justice — and we will do that as best we can.”

A “Justice for Robert Fuller” petition has nearly reached its 300,000-signature goal. Petition organizers question if Fuller was possibly the victim of a lynching.

They cite heightened emotions caused by recent Black Lives Matters (BLM) protests as a possible factor.

Hundreds of people reportedly took part in Palmdale BLM demonstration a week prior to Fuller’s death.

Despite creating some traffic issues, authorities say the demonstrations were peaceful.

Over the weekend Fuller’s family and supporters held rallies to demand an independent investigation into his death. They reject the suicide claim presented by the Sheriff’s office. Instead in the Change.org petition they point to the community’s past “history of racism and negligence”.

The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that Victorville and the surrounding county is home to several anti-government and anti-immigration hate groups. In 2012, a man was found hanging from an electric wire in an incident police believed was a suicide.

Still, Victor Valley News reports that San Bernardino Sheriff’s officials said there is no indication of foul play.

A similar online petition is gaining signatures for Malcolm Harsch. Twenty-three thousand people have signed petition to seek a thorough investigation.

The Harsch family told Victor Valley News that law enforcement’s assessment of suicide possibly linked to the coronavirus was off base.

“He didn’t seem to be depressed to anyone who truly knew him. Everyone who knew our brother was shocked to hear that he allegedly hung himself and don’t believe it to be true as well as the people who were there when his body was discovered. The explanation of suicide does not seem plausible,” it reads, Sheriff Villanueva scheduled a virtual town hall on Monday. He said residents can talk with law enforcement and get more information about the case.

In both Palmdale and Victorville authorities say the investigations are ongoing.

During her life, Wells-Barnett put all of her resources into journalism and bought a stake in the Memphis Free Speech newspaper. After three of her friends were lynched by a mob in 1892, her journey as a social reformer. She lectured about the atrocities of lynching all over Great Britain. Her three friends’ deaths changed her life.

Today, the end of the lives of three Black men, brings back the memory of Wells-Barnett’s cause.

Lynching is defined as a form of violence in which mobs, consisting mostly of non-Black people in the Deep South states, executed a person without the fairness of a jury trial.

This practice soared after the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in 1865 and continued for about 100 years. Graphic photos of lynchings, many in a spectator setting, still circulate in various forms of media, including U.S. postal cards.

The National Memorial For Peace and Justice (NMPJ) in Montgomery, Ala., is the first memorial dedicated to the legacy of enslaved Black people and Black people terrorized by lynching.

In May of 2020, 89 years after her death, WellsBarnett was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her journalism.

“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them,” Wells-Barnett once wrote.

Malcolm Harsch, the Victorville man found hanging from tree. (Courtesy Photo)

Protestors left flowers and candles around the tree that Robert Fuller was found hanging from in Palmdale, CA. (Photo by Taisha Brown)

Civil Rights Groups File Lawsuit Demanding Better Conditions in Broward County Jail Submitted by Gaby Guadalupe Westside Gazette BROWARD, FL – The American Civil Liberties

Union (ACLU), ACLU of Florida and the Disability Rights Florida filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of individuals being held in dangerous conditions in Broward County Jail

that threaten to speed the spread of the coronavirus among prisoners and staff. The lawsuit demands that the Sheriff’s Office immediately release medically vulnerable prisoners to home confinement or under other conditions so that their already heightened odds of contracting the virus and falling deathly ill are not exacerbated.

The lawsuit demands that the Sheriff’s Office cease acting recklessly with the health and safety of those individuals who remain incarcerated by following basic preventative and containment procedures such as providing prisoners with appropriate and adequate cleaning supplies, soap, and sanitizer; housing them in a manner that permits social distancing and protects the medically vulnerable; medically isolating symptomatic and COVID-19 positive individuals; properly screening and quarantining newly admitted or transferred prisoners; waiving prisoner fees for medical calls; and providing accurate and reliable tests for COVID-19. If these conditions are not met, the lawsuit asks the court to appoint a medical expert in public health and prison conditions to set criteria to determine who should be released from the facility.

“Even though parts of the state are reopening, it does not mean that the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks in jails has vanished,” said Benjamin Stevenson, staff attorney at the ACLU of Florida. “Broward County Jail has failed to adjust its facilities to health guidelines during this pandemic. The people in their custody remain at high-risk and are subject to living in these unconstitutional conditions.”

Despite repeated calls from advocacy groups to improve its conditions, the county jail has refused to implement the changes necessary to keep those in its custody safe from COVID-19.

“The ACLU has had litigation at the Broward County jail for more than a quarter of a century due to unconstitutional conditions in this jail,” said Anjana Samant, senior staff attorney at the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project. “During a pandemic, the crowding and conditions at the Jail become extraordinarily dangerous — for the people incarcerated there, as well as for the staff, their families, and their communities. We urge the court to take swift, urgent action here to mitigate the risk and save lives. There is no time to waste.”

Broward County is one of Florida’s coronavirus disease epicenters, with the second-highest number of cases in the state behind Miami-Dade County.

“Many individuals with disabilities are particularly medically vulnerable to serious injury or death due to COVID-19, may not be able to avoid close contact with others due to care needs related to limited mobility, and may have difficulty understanding or practicing preventative measures such as wearing a mask or maintaining a safe distance from others,” said Disability Rights Florida Senior Staff Attorney Curtis Filaroski. “It is crucial that Broward County Jail drastically alter its practices to protect this particularly vulnerable community.”

The complaint can be found here: https://www.aclufl. org/sites/default/files/001_barnett_v._tony_petitioncomplaint.pdf

SOCIAL DISTANCING?

Despite repeated calls from advocacy groups to improve its conditions, the county jail has refused to implement the changes necessary to keep those in its custody safe from COVID-19. (Photo: iStockphoto / NNPA)

The press release can be found here: https://www. aclufl.org/en/press-releases/civil-rights-groups-file-lawsuitdemanding-better-conditions-broward-county-jail

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Entertainment

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Chappelle Speaks on George Floyd in New Netflix Special

Beyonce has joined the call for charges against officers involved in this shooting.

Breonna Taylor, a black woman gunned down by officers who burst into her Kentucky home.

Beyonce Wants Officers Charged in Black Woman’s Death LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Beyonce has joined the call for charges against officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor, a black woman gunned down by officers who burst into her Kentucky home.

The superstar said in a letter Sunday to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron that the three Louisville police officers “must be held accountable for their actions.”

The officers, Jon Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove, have been placed on administrative reassignment while the shooting is investigated.

“Your office has both the power and the responsibility to bring justice to Breonna Taylor, and demonstrate the value of a Black woman's life,” said the letter released on

the singer’s website.

Taylor, 26, who was studying to become a nurse, was shot eight times by officers conducting a narcotics investigation on March 13. No drugs were found at her home. The city of Louisville last week banned the used of controversial “no-knock” warrants.

Taylor’s aunt, Bianca Austin, has said the family wants the officers fired and prosecuted.

Protests over several days in Louisville were fueled by Taylor's shooting and the death of George Floyd, a black man in police custody in Minneapolis.

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) _ An angry and emotional Dave Chappelle spoke on the killing of George Floyd in a surprise Netflix special, saying America was being punished for its mistreatment of black men. ``I don’t mean to get heavy but we got to say something,’’ said Chappelle, who added that America is enduring ``the wrath of God’’ for a string of police assaults on black men.

The special was released Thursday and is streaming free on Netflix’s comedy YouTube channel. It was taken from a show at an outdoor pavilion in Yellow Springs, Ohio, with about 100 attendees on June 6.

Floyd died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck for more than eight minutes even after he pleaded for air and stopped moving, an ordeal caught on video. Chappelle called his special ``8:46’’ in part after the length of time the officer was on top of the handcuffed Floyd.

It is also the time Chappelle was born on Aug. 24, 1973. ``I can’t get that number out of my head because it

was my time of birth on my birth certificate,’’ he said. ``When I watched that tape, I understood this man knew he was going to die,’’ said the comedian. ``I can’t tell you, as a man, watching another man, go through something like that, what it makes you feel like.’’

Chappelle added that he has been quiet until now for a reason. ``Answer me: Do you want to see a celebrity right now?’’ he asked. ``No, this is the streets talking for themselves. They don’t need me right now.’’

Chappelle also explored the violent deaths of such black men as Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Philando Castile. ``One after the other,’’ the comedian said. He also slammed the National Rifle Association and celebrated Kobe Bryant.

He ended by noting that his great-grandfather _ once a slave _ was part of an African American delegation that was asked to come to the White House following a lynching during the presidency of Woodrow Wilson. ``These things are not old. This is not a long time ago.

It’s today,’’ Chappelle said. ``These streets will speak for themselves whether I am alive or dead. I trust you guys.’’

Police stories have evolved far from the prime of Sgt. Friday. But the idealized crime fighter remains a cultural touchstone even when countered by such recent narratives as Ava DuVernay’s Netflix series “When They See Us,’’ about the wrongfully convicted Central Park Five, and Angie Thomas’ “The Hate U Give,’’ a best-selling novel about a black teen murdered by police that was adapted into a feature film of the same name.

Floyd’s Death Hastens Shift in Police Pop Culture Portrayals

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) _ Gary Phillips, a prize-winning crime novelist from Los Angeles, grew up on TV shows that showed a world nothing like the one he lived in.

“I watched them all, `Dragnet,' `Adam 12,' `The Wild, Wild West,' `Mannix,' `Cannon,' `Peter Gunn' reruns and on and on. Now these were white guys and they were tough but fair and even-handed,'' he told The Associated Press in a recent email, referring to popular programs mostly from the 1960s and 1970s.

“I remember a `Dragnet' episode where tight-ass Joe Friday solved racism among black and white officers in a weekend retreat. But I was a kid growing up in South Central and even then some part of me knew a lot of this was jive. We knew the cops out of Newton and 77th Division policed the 'hood a lot different than shown on TV.'' The May 25 killing of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck, has set off protests worldwide and transmitted images of law enforcement that long remained far outside the narratives of crime stories _ beatings and lethal chokeholds of handcuffed suspects, firing mace and rubber bullets at peaceful protesters, harassing and cursing at journalists.

Police stories have evolved far from the prime of Sgt. Friday. But the idealized crime fighter remains a cultural touchstone even when countered by such recent narratives

as Ava DuVernay's Netflix series “When They See Us,'' about the wrongfully convicted Central Park Five, and Angie Thomas' “The Hate U Give,'' a best-selling novel about a black teen murdered by police that was adapted into a feature film of the same name.

“Hopefully what we're seeing on TV now, and on social media, is that bubble being popped,'' Thomas told the AP. Protests have already changed television. “Cops,'' which for 33 seasons helped shape an authorized narrative that allowed viewers to sympathize and identify with real police on patrol, was dropped this week by the Paramount Network. A&E did the same with a similar show, “Live PD,'' one of its mostly highly rated programs. Earlier this year, five police procedurals were consistently in the Nielsen company's top 20 ratings, including NBC's “Chicago PD'' and CBS's “FBI.'' Now, even those portraying law enforcement officials are pulling back: Griffin Newman, who appeared as a detective on the CBS series “Blue Bloods,'' announced he was donating his earnings from the show to help raise bail for arrested protesters.

The divide between crime fiction and real life dates back to the genre's origins, more than 200 years ago. Law enforcement violence and corruption were extreme in the mid-19th century and some police forces were rooted in the patrols that used to chase down runaway slaves.

Meanwhile, “The police in early crime fiction were depicted as good, courageous, and brilliant,'' says Otto Penzler, the crime fiction publisher and bookseller.

In the 20th century, shows such as “Dragnet'' and “Highway Patrol'' were collaborations between law enforcement and the entertainment business, to the point where J. Edgar Hoover was permitted to vet the politics of the actors appearing in “The FBI,'' the long-running series starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr. Otherwise, police and other officials were portrayed as jaded and self-contained in the fiction of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, comical and bumbling like the Keystone Kops or the misfits of “Police Academy,'' rumpled and savvy like Peter Falk's Columbo, or witty and indomitable like Bruce Willis' New York City detective John McClane in the “Die Hard'' movies.

Walter Mosley, known for his “Easy Rawlins'' novels about a black detective in Los Angeles, noted that even if the plot included a bad cop “it wouldn't be instituonalized.

It would be that cop is bad because he or she is a bad person.''

For Gary Phillips and many others, it took years to find stories in which they could see themselves. Naomi Hirahara, the Edgar Award winning author of the Mas Arai detective novels, remembered the “fantasy'' or watching the white male protagonists in “Columbo,'' “The Rockford Files'' and other shows. As an adult, she was drawn to African American crime writers such as Mosley and Chester Himes, and now admires Rachel Howzel Hall's novels about the African American LAPD homicide detective Elouise “Lou'' Norton, books “revealing the complexity of a black woman in a system that has traditionally

disempowered minorities.''

Penzler and others cite Joseph Wambaugh's 1971 novel “The New Centurions'' as a turning point in showing a more realistic portrait of police, although no single trend has prevailed. Over the past 50 years, the image of law enforcement has sometimes mirrored debates between liberals and conservatives. Sidney Lumet's 1973 film “Serpico'' dramatized the corruption of New York City police and the heroism of the real-life title character's willingness to speak out. Around the same time, Clint Eastwood's “Dirty Harry'' movies positioned Eastwood's San Francisco lawman as a needed rule-breaker in a system too permissive of crime. Spike Lee's landmark 1989 release “Do the Right Thing,'' in which a black man is choked to death by police, was released two weeks after the premiere of “Lethal Weapon 2'' and the crowd pleasing defiance of Mel Gibson's Sgt. Martin Riggs.

“Cops,'' which allowed the departments it covered significant control over its content, has been contrasted by the tougher perspective of Lena Waithe's Showtime series “The Chi.” But even shows like “The Wire,'' and “The Shield'' that take frank looks at police abuses can end up making the audience identify with officers.

“At first it's `police are dirty bums' and it's `look at the awful thing they did,''' says Miki Turner, a professor at the University of Southern California who specializes in diversity and controversial topics in the entertainment industry and television. “And then there's something in the script that makes you flip your mentality, and sympathize.''

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER A7

Local How Community Can Forward Black Lives Matter Movement

By Janell Gore South Kern Sol Since the death of George Floyd people across the country have been expressing their anger and have been demanding change in law enforcement practices by protesting, looting, and people from all types of backgrounds using their platforms to speak out on the issue.

A number of communities in Kern County have joined the movement. Residents of Delano, Tehachapi, Taft and many more have gathered to stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement. Hundreds of young people have been gathering in Bakersfield every night and marching. There have also been prayer circles and sit-ins.

After almost a week of the protest, Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt of Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes, was charged with second degree murder. And a few days later, the three officers who were with him are being charged with aiding and abetting.

However, many leaders are saying this is not enough to put a stop to the problem. People are still hurting and demanding change. For many black people the death of Floyd and many other lives that were taken unjustly feels closer.

“Being a black woman, a wife to a black man, and mother to two black sons I feel the oppression in a way that is very personal and very painful,” said Arleana Waller, the founder of the She Power Leadership Academy and the MLK Community Initiative.

This movement is not only personal to Waller, but to many in Kern County and its leaders. It’s hard for people to talk about this without mentioning the Guardian’s

2015 report, naming Kern County as one of the deadliest law enforcements.

The need for change is encouraging people to come together and find a solution to demand in Kern.

“We have to stand together in solidarity,” said Ucedrah Osby, the president of All of Us or None. “That means that all the social justice organizers, the black community and allies must use the same messaging because there’s power in numbers and numbers create change, especially in Kern County where the marginalized population is huge.”

In order to make real change, Faheemah Salahud-Din Floyd, the executive director of FAAM, said it’s important to talk to black leaders about the issues going on and the ways to fix it.

“What needs to be done locally is that nonblack people need to differ to black leadership,” said SalahudDin Floyd. “Talk to black leaders and see what we are planning and get in line with that.”

She continued: “This is not your agenda…You don’t get to use it as an opportunity to air your grievances with the police. Yes, your grievances are real and yes the police department has hurt everyone who isn’t white and some white folks as well. But that isn’t what this is about.”

During this time, many young adults are angry and feel the need to go fix what is happening across the country.

Leaders are urging them to get involved in organizations. It is important to keep doing the work even after when things start to settle with the protests.

Local leaders recommend joining an organization and participating in voting so there are people who care about the same issues.

Unity In The Community Call To Action Peace Rally

By Darlene L. Williams Contributing Writer In the wake of the much televised deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arberry some 250 men, women, children, police officers, clergy, and community leaders filled the sanctuary of St. Peter’s Restoration Community Christian Ministries for a “Unite the Community” rally. The event was rescheduled to Thursday, June 11, 2020 to accommodate more community members wanting to attend the meeting, themed, “If You See Something Say Something.”

Pastor BK Jones opened up the event with a stirring prayer. He commented afterwards, “We were horrified by 8 minutes and 46 seconds.”(Referring to the amount of time former Minneapolis police officer Derrick Stauvin knelt on the neck of George Floyd until his death).

“There’s almost a mindset, Jones said, that we of the black community have to ask to be human.”

The outcry against police brutality and killings of unarmed African American men and women, and systemic racial and social injustices, have not been the issues solely affecting other cities and counties in the U.S., but such issues are plaguing Kern County as well.

The crowd stood and applauded after, KCSOS HR Director, Traco Matthews stated, “Tonight, we are here to declare NO MORE, not on our watch!”

Seventeen speakers were slotted to speak at the event including: NAACP President, Patrick Jackson, Mayor Karen Goh, Assemblyman Rudy Salas, Bakersfield Police Chief, Greg Terry, KC Superintendent of Schools, Mary Barlow, Black Lives Matter spokesperson, Reginald Gardner, and others.

“We’ve heard accounts of racial discrimination and accounts of deep wounds,” Mayor Karen Goh said. “As a community we have to look deep inside; let our actions match our words.”

Andre Gonzalez thanked the organizers of the protests and those responsible for starting the hard conversations about racism.

“It’s important that we have these difficult conversations and that we listen,” Gonzalez said. “There are many reforms already in process. “By the end of this month, every police officer will be equipped with body cameras.” (A standing ovation) Former Supervisor, Gene Tackett, “It’s good to be a Bakersfield Unity Rally.” I’m here to support the police department.

Tackett made reference to the 75 year- old man protesting in Buffalo, NY being pushed down by a police officer and other officers walked by.

“I’m not here to defund the police,” Tackett said, “but I’m here to reform the police. “ Senator Shannon Grove, could not attend the rally, but sent a recorded message quoting several Biblical scriptures to comfort those in attendance. ” This is not a Republican or Democrat issue” Grove said, but it’s an issue of humanity.”

NAACP President, Patrick Jackson, passionately spoke about several cases involving wrongful deaths of African Americans in Kern County. “Enough is enough!” Jackson said.

“Tonight we lament, tomorrow we work on legislation,” he said. “Faith without works is dead.” (Receiving a standing ovation) The 3-hour event also included moving gospel songs, led by Pastor Mike Jenkins and the song “I Need You To Survive” which seemed to be message that connected to the hearts of those in attendance.

“This is not a moment in time, but there is a lot of pain right here in this town. “A healthy community recognizes that diversity is not a threat, but a blessing.” Rabbi Klein (Temple Beth-El) It is unknown if “Unite the Community” is scheduled for future events. Director of Public Affairs at Centric Health Care and moderator of the event, Michael Bowers could not be reached for further comments regarding future plans.

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BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER

Local

Wednesday, June 17, 2020